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Crunchy peanut cookies

Matdongsan 맛동산

Today I’m going to show you how to make a crunchy Korean peanut cookie that a lot of Koreans grew up with, including me! They’re called Matdongsan (맛동산) cookies, and were created in 1975 by the Haitai company. It’s a fried cookie covered in a light coating of sticky syrup. They are crunchy, nutty, sweet and irresistible. When I first tried these cookies I couldn’t believe such a delicious thing existed in the world. A lot of Koreans agree, and many of us grew up eating Matdongsan cookies.

You can find them at pretty much any Korean grocery store or on Amazon, but I’ll show you how to make them at home. It’s not very hard, although there are some steps to follow to make them delicious. And you need to both fry and bake them so that they get super crunchy.

The method of rolling out the dough is similar to making the doughnuts in my kkwabaegi recipe, so if you made those doughnuts you’re an expert at making a rope out of dough. : )

I hope you and your family and friends enjoy these Korean cookies! Let me know if you make them!

Ingredients

Makes about 12 ounces (340 grams) of cookies

  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon plus 3 cups cooking oil (grape seed oil, vegetable oil, corn oil)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped coarsely

For syrup:

  • ¼ cup rice syrup (or corn syrup)
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water

Directions

Make the dough:

  1. Crack 1 egg into a bowl. Add ¼ cup sugar, kosher salt, 1 tablespoon cooking oil, vanilla extract. Mix it well with a spoon.
  2. Add the flour and baking powder and knead for 1 minute until the dough is smooth.doughmatdongsan dough
  3. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for 30 minutes.matdongsan wrap

Make the syrup:

  1. Put ¼ cup rice syrup, 2 tablespoons of white sugar, and 2 tablespoons of water in a small pan.
  2. Boil over medium low heat for 8 to 10 minutes until bubbling and the color of the syrup changes to a light brown. Be sure not to stir it, just swirl the syrup around by tilting the pan this way and that. Remove from the heat and set aside.matdongsan sauce

Form & fry the cookies:

  1. Take some dough and roll it out into a long, ¼ inch thick rope. Cut it into 2 inch pieces. Do this with all of the dough.matdongsan uncooked
  2. Heat up the cooking oil in a skillet until the temperature reaches about 330° to 350° F. You can test the temperature with a kitchen thermometer, or just dip a piece of cookie dough into the oil. If it creates some bubbles in the oil, it’s right temperature. If it bubbles too vigorously, turn off the heat and wait until the temperature goes down a bit.
  3. Fry the cookie dough over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes, until they turn a light golden brown and get crunchy. Strain the cookies and fry the second batch.matdoingsan fryingfried cookies

Bake the cookies:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
  2. Place the fried cookies in a cookie pan and bake them for 8 to 10 minutes until they are golden brown and very crunchy. Be sure not to burn and keep checking the color through the oven window.matdongsan baked

Put it together:

  1. Reheat the syrup.
  2. Heat up a skillet over medium heat and add the baked cookies, the peanuts, and the hot syrup. Mix it well with a wooden spoon.matdongsan mix sauce
  3. Put the sticky cookies on a sheet of parchment paper on your table or cutting board. Let them cool for a couple of minutes, then separate them by hand or a spoon so they don’t stick together.matdongsan finished

Serve:

  1. Serve as snack or dessert.
  2. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container or plastic bag and freeze for up to 1 month.

matdongsan

Posted on Saturday, July 16th, 2016. Last updated on September 13, 2023.
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17 Comments:

  1. Abeer 06 Pakistan joined 3/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted March 18th, 2020 at 1:49 pm | or create a profile.

    I made it with my younger brother and it was a little difficult but super YUM! It tlasted amazing. Always a fan and a follower !


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  2. Vey Indonesia joined 6/17 & has 12 comments
    Posted June 29th, 2017 at 12:21 am | or create a profile.

    Thank you for recipe, i made it 2types, follow your recipe n with add coffee mint powder n the taste is so yummyyyyyy


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  3. Niveditha06 Chennai joined 6/17 & has 1 comment
    Posted June 9th, 2017 at 1:49 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi I love watching your videos..whenever I am hungry I watch your videos and it’s like I am eating and I feel my stomach is full…. One question I have I don’t find rice syrup or corn syrup in my area ..is there any alternative for this ? I am not great fan of honey so is there any other way we can make sauce ?

  4. nori Pakistan joined 11/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 20th, 2016 at 1:39 am | or create a profile.

    Hi maangchi this is one of the many recipes of yours I tried and as always it turned out oh-so-amazinggg.
    Thank you so very much for your recipes.I have started feeling like a pro (not really lol) in Korean cooking.
    With lots and lots of chocolates,hugs and kisses.


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  5. sheisintrovert Quezon City joined 10/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted October 11th, 2016 at 10:54 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi, can I use Oven toaster instead?

  6. Jamielee.uk joined 9/15 & has 1 comment
    Posted September 7th, 2016 at 10:07 am | or create a profile.

    I made these last week and they were delicious! I’ve now been asked by my family to make more so I’m doing s double batch today :)! X


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  7. Slizzybob Phoenix, AZ joined 8/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted August 12th, 2016 at 12:06 am | or create a profile.

    Thank you, Maangchi! I cooked these tonight as a practice run for a party I’m going to this weekend, just to make sure they’ll come out good. I’m going to a party for my Taekwon-do school so I wanted to make something Korean, since it’s a Korean art! I brought the cookies for my friends at Taekwon-do and they loved them, so I know everyone at the party will love them too :D my peanuts didn’t stick very well but I think I know how to fix it for next time!


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  8. krispybaekon Palmdale, CA, US joined 7/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted July 21st, 2016 at 3:32 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi!!
    So far I have made your iced coffee recipe and this 맛동산! It was really fun to make this recipe! I’m only 18, and I’m Mexican, I’m trying to learn how to cook another culture’s food and you’re definitely worth watching, I’ve learned some really cool techniques on Korean cooking with your channel! Can’t wait to make more dishes and desserts! ^^


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  9. remerton Portland, Oregon joined 7/16 & has 1 comment
    Posted July 20th, 2016 at 9:50 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi!

    Thank you for sharing your recipes and techniques with us.

    I need your assistance: I have made the matdongsun twice and they turn out golden, delicious and fluffy. I cannot get them crunchy. I fried then baked them and followed the recipe to the letter and while they are VERY delicious and my friends eat them within 10 minutes, they are not crunchy. Can you help me with this? I’m stumped.

    Thank you,

    -Ryan

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